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Green Bay Packers: Are they the team to beat in the NFC?

By Michael HuntMilwaukee Journal Sentinel

Posted:
10/30/2013 12:01:00 AM CDT

Updated:
10/30/2013 07:24:45 AM CDT

Green Bay wide receiver Jordy Nelson, left, celebrates his touchdown with wide receiver Myles White (19) in the first half of their game against the Vikings on Sunday, Oct. 27, 2013, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Ann Heisenfelt)

Though it's arguable that the Seahawks, 49ers and Saints are still the NFC teams to beat, the Packers' head of steam and remaining schedule just might make them the most dangerous team at the halfway point.

That running game and Aaron Rodgers? With James Jones on the mend, the Packers' offense should be illegal without a prescription in the contiguous 48.

Even minus Clay Matthews, the defense has grown serious teeth. Nick Perry is back on the practice field. Mike Daniels makes things happen with the pass rush. While the adage that defense wins championships no longer applies in today's NFL, a synchronized team effort never hurts.

True, stay-in-your-lane kick coverage remains sketchy, but it is not troublesome enough to be a determining factor for what is to come.

Only the mad dogs and Englishmen who go out in the midday sun would guarantee a table run in the last nine games, but the Packers appear set up for postseason success even more than they were when the Giants popped the 15-1 illusion two years ago.

The combined record of the Packers' remaining opponents is 27-44. Only the Lions and the Bears from within the division have winning records. While it's debatable whether Chicago is better with or without Jay Cutler, the Bears also are missing Lance Briggs and do not have a chance Monday night at Lambeau Field.

Bigger picture, the Packers' record at the close of business on Dec. 29 is only important in how it sets the postseason schedule and whether it dissuades Mike McCarthy from sitting everyone who matters at Soldier Field as he did against Detroit in 2011.

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It's how the Packers, winners of four straight, are gaining momentum at the turn that is making them a reckoning force.

Of course, it's about how the running game has made the Packers very difficult to defend. After getting his first look at Eddie Lacy and the reshuffled line in late spring, McCarthy knew what he had. He was bold enough then to predict an improved downhill attack and smart enough recently to promise nothing.

It's early enough for McCarthy to righteously snort at assumptions that the running game will remain in the top four for the duration, much less that it's presently where he thinks it should be. That's what coaches do. So he'll acknowledge it...when?

"When we're talking about it in February, right? Isn't that what this is all about?" he said this week.

The only stat that matters is the number of shiny, silver trophies in the case. Super Bowl or Bust is not just a motto in Green Bay; it is the reason for drawing breath.

"There's one statistic that counts and we're making our way toward it," McCarthy said. "And we're a long way from that."

But a stout running game has a way of hurrying the clock, figuratively and literally. Lacy and James Starks and effective blocking have completely changed the way defenses approach the Packers. Once, opponents could home in on Rodgers with no guarantee of success. So what do they do now, especially with Rodgers becoming better every game at calling rushing plays at the line of scrimmage?

More injuries could change things, but as long as Rodgers stays healthy his presence overcomes anyone else's absence. Meanwhile, it has to be encouraging to the Packers that no one went to the training room to stay after they casually walked over Minnesota on Sunday night.

At the moment, the NFL's three best teams are in the AFC. We'll know more after Thanksgiving at Ford Field, but right now the Packers are running downhill with extreme prejudice at their own conference.